View of Russia From Alaska

I thought this was an interesting article on the island of Little Diomede in Alaska, which is only two miles away from the island of Big Diomede in Russia. Tonight there will be a program of a visit to this little island of about 150 residents.

UPDATE: Here a link to the AC360 video story.

AC360 Blog Article

Photos of the island




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Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin on the Issues

There are few things in this world that I hate more than uneducated voters. So many people in this world vote for an individual candidate for ridiculous reasons.

Just because someone is a Christian who loves Jesus, that doesn't mean they'll make a good president. Likewise, just because I am a Christian who loves Jesus, that doesn't mean that I would make a good quantum physics professor. In order to be good at your job, you need to be well-qualified and deserved of the position.

According to the Exit Polls in New Hampshire in January, the Republican's most common response for a top reason for voting for a particular candidate was, "personality." What the...!?

We must be more educated by looking deeper into the candidates' lives as well as their beliefs and stances on the issues.

I try hard to be an independent voter and not be swayed by the media or public opinion. That's why I am going directly to the sources of the candidates when looking up information: their own websites.  

BarackObama.com

JohnMcCain.com

My hope is that YOU will be better educated when it comes to the ISSUES we are voting on come this November. Add that to a good dose of conversation with friends and family.  I had great conversations last weekend with three generations of family members.  It was very educational.

P.S.- Be loving when talking about politics. Not critical. It's much more fruitful.

Kid Quote: DNA

It is tons of fun to build Legos with my elementary school students. Anything that I create is light years ahead of them developmentally, so they think I'm the coolest Lego builder ever. One day I happened to build a tall tower. One of our 4th grade boys slipped me a comment as he walked by.

"Oh, that looks just like DNA! Umm, what does that stand for again?"

Feeling excited to actually use my biology degree in some form after graduating, I said matter-of-factly, "Deoxyribonucleic acid!"

He responded, "No, that's not it."

It's Good to be Poor

As I watched my VCR recording (a.k.a., "poor man's TiVo") of last night's World Series of Poker episode, I realized something today. If I won something like $100,000 in the Main Event tournament, it would probably give me more trouble than you'd think.

Sure, it would certainly be nice to pay off our student loans, invest into something, and put some money down on a house. But, of course, we would leave a tiny little bit left for splurging. Here comes the problem... 

The first fun thing we would probably buy is Mario Kart Wii. The reason is because it is something very high on the list of things we'd love to have but don't have the funds for. It'd be super fun to play with Jen since it's her favorite video game, however, I would likely begin playing it every waking minute. I would likely stop reading the Bible regularly, stop spending time with my sweetie in the kitchen after work, and stop snuggling with her on the couch after dessert. 

There are many positives to see when God only provides enough money for absolute necessities. We have both learned self control and we have both learned what's really important in life. I certainly don't want to ruin that by winning $100,000. Do I?

Summer is Over

Well, summer is finally over. Along with my full-time summer job.

My lack of blogging is a result of me finding my priorities. My priorities have been working an exhausting (yet rewarding) job all day, playing a little poker online before my wife gets home, and then spend time with her the rest of the night. That sums up my summer.

And I am thrilled because it's so wonderful not being a slacker, but instead doing what I'm supposed to do as a husband. It feels so good to be glorifying God daily and watching my wife grow in maturity. Even when it seems way too hard sometimes, it actually feels like this life is worth living.

Now... next priority: finding a second part-time job.

The Road to Divorce

There have been many times in our marriage so far that could have ended up on the road to divorce. It happens every day.

I am a firm believer that what it takes to make a marriage work is making a new commitment every day to love and forgive one's spouse. It's very difficult, however, especially if the two people have a hard time compromising in arguments. The key is sacrificial love.

Sacrificial love is giving up something you want in order to meet your spouse's needs. Who likes to give up something you want? Not me. I am selfish. I want respect, I want a back rub, I want my wife to kill the spider when I'm in the middle of my TV show. I want, want, want.

Thankfully God gives me the power through the Holy Spirit to suppress my wants and focus on her needs. She needs a gentle voice. She needs a caring man. She needs an example of Christ leading His bride.

There are many forks in the road of marriage life. I am thankful that I can give credit to God for leading me down the road that glorifies Him instead of the road to separation.